Capture of gases emitted from power plants is an area of increasing interest. Power plants based on the combustion of petroleum products generate carbon dioxide as a by-product of the reaction. Historically this carbon dioxide has been released into the atmosphere after combustion. However, it is becoming increasingly desirable to identify ways to find alternative uses for the carbon dioxide generated during combustion.
Combined cycle power plants provide an efficient way to generate electricity from the burning of petroleum products or other carbon-based fuels. Combined cycle power plants can leverage an initial combustion reaction to power multiple turbines for generation of electricity, leading to more efficient power generation. However, conventional methods for capturing carbon dioxide tend to reduce the efficiency of electricity generation, due to the additional energy required to capture and/or sequester the carbon dioxide.
At the same time, existing natural and industrial sources of inert gases cannot meet the growing worldwide demand of CO2 and N2 used for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and Enhanced Gas Recovery (EGR) at hydrocarbon production wells. In addition, it is becoming imperative to capture and sequester greenhouse gases such as CO2 from power generation plants.
In instances of tertiary recovery of mature oilfields, natural sources of CO2 are produced and distributed, where available, in a pipeline network that provides the CO2 to oilfields where CO2 EOR recovery methods will extend the production lifetime of the oilfield. However, this type of naturally sourced CO2 and associated pipeline infrastructure only exists in certain regions of the U.S., specifically in the Permian Basin and in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. In many other major oil producing areas, neither naturally sourced CO2 nor a CO2 pipeline network exists. As a result, the demand for CO2 to be used for EOR exceeds the available supply of naturally sourced CO2. Therefore, new technology is required for generating CO2 at low cost.
Furthermore, in light of the emergent need to reduce the emission of CO2 from power plants, there is an acute need for new technology that enables capture of CO2 from power plants at low cost. There is a need for technology that would simultaneously enable the low cost capture of CO2 for EOR and provide N2 for EGR or EOR at a reduced cost in comparison with the conventional technologies (e.g., N2 generation using a cryogenic air separation plant).